What is Love?
by ToBeSomebody
Summary: Finally, Ash has realized that he's in love. But he still needs help to win her over! Desperate, he turns to the one person who would know what to do: ...Misty? Wait a second, that can't be right... AshxMisty/MayxOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Welcome everyone! This will be my first extensive fic dedicated solely to a romance/humor plot. I hope you all enjoy it!

**Full Summary: **Ash, Brock, May and Max take a break from traveling to have a bit of fun when they run into none other than Misty! Meanwhile, Ash can't help but notice that he's started to act strange when he's around May. Never having felt this way before, he comes to realize that he must be in love with her! Romance isn't exactly his strong suit, though, so he turns to the one friend that's sure to come through for him: Misty. Now she has to cope with losing Ash while helping him win the heart of another girl. Meanwhile, May finds herself falling for a complete stranger! Boy, love stinks!

* * *

Far on the edge of Hoenn, Ash Ketchum strode into Lilycove city alongside Brock, May and Max. The ocean air was refreshing and the sun was warm, but not everybody was happy.

"What are we even doing here, Brock?" Ash whined, "There's no gym in this town."

"Maybe not," May said, "but there's an amazing department store I've been dying to visit! Great idea, Brock!"

"We can visit the department store later," Brock replied. He kept a hand against his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun as he panned the city in search of something. Grabbing onto his pack, he let loose a long sigh. "Maybe I got the dates wrong…"

"Huh? Whaddya mean, by 'dates'?" asked Ash. Before Brock could answer, a large fanfare began playing somewhere in the distance. The four of them squinted their eyes and could see flashing colors and fun-looking rides far off on the coastline. "Oh wow," Ash exclaimed, "what's all this?"

Brock crossed his arms and nodded his head. "We were invited to a very special event, courtesy of Professor Oak. Lady and gentlemen, welcome to the first annual PokePalooza Festival!"

"'PokePalooza'? What's that supposed to mean?" Max asked.

"All across the world," Brock started, "people and pokemon work together in all kinds of ways. From battling to contests, even magic acts and construction work, people work and live with pokemon in different ways. This festival was dreamed up by some of the top names of every industry with one goal in mind: to show our appreciation for pokemon and for each other in everything that we do. It's supposed to have a little bit of everything!"

"Everything?" Ash pondered, "Alright! A chance to get in some real battling and warm up for my next gym match!"

"Oh Ash, is battling all you ever think about?" May asked, "Come on, how about we go and find something to eat first!" She grabbed Ash by the hand and began racing for the boardwalk, nearly tossing Pikachu off of his shoulder. Ash kept one hand on his hat to keep it from blowing away while he tried to keep up with May. As they ran, he couldn't help but stare at her. It was something he caught himself doing a lot lately, even though he didn't really understand it. As usual he decided to pay it little mind as his thoughts turned to those of delicious food.

"Wait up, you two!" Brock yelled ahead. May and Ash came to a halt, still a short walk from the fun and excitement.

"What's wrong Brock?" Ash asked, "I'm starving, let's go!"

"Don't worry Ash; we'll get some food in a little bit." Brock checked his map and took a quick glance around. "Bingo! Follow me guys." He led them into a nearby building that was already jam-packed with festival-goers. The lobby they found themselves in was completely filled with people waving money around and filling the air with incoherent yelling.

"What's all the fuss about?" Max asked.

"This is the Cove Lily Motel," Brock answered, "I guess they're all looking for a place to stay. Don't worry, I already made reservations. Just wait here, I'll be right back." He began to squeeze his way through a couple of people and was lost amongst the crowd. The shoving grew worse as more and more people filled the lobby.

"Hey guys, I think we should wait outside," Ash suggested. The other two nodded in agreement and they managed to fight their way to the door, sighing in relief at having gained some personal space again. "Whew. I think I'm gonna go take a breather." Ash and Pikachu sat back in a nearby patch of grass.

"Sounds great, I'll join you!" May said. She took a seat near Ash and stared out at the festival grounds and all of the fun and exciting activities taking place. Ash tried to do the same but once again found his gaze resting upon May. He sighed audibly, not exactly sure of why he couldn't get his mind off of her. May heard and turned around. "Ash? What's wrong?"

"Pika?" Pikachu added.

"Oh, i-it's nothing!" Ash forced a smile and scratched his head. "I'm just tired from all the walking, it'll be good to sleep in a bed again."

"Tell me about it!" May chirped, having bought into the white lie. "This is like a well-earned vacation."

"Hey guys! Over here!" They heard Brock yelling the door of the motel.

"C'mon!" Ash said, jumping to his feet with Pikachu in tow. They raced for the motel ready for a day of fun and relaxation.

"You'll never guess who I ran into!" Brock said, opening the door a bit wider. Amongst the many shuffling figures in the lobby stood a girl slightly taller than Ash, her orange hair in a ponytail on the side of her head.

Ash could hardly believe his eyes. "Misty?"

* * *

**A/N: **More to come soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hey everyone and welcome (back)! Time to hop perspectives now and take a look at thing's from Misty's point of view!

* * *

Misty's heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sight of Ash. She had heard Professor Oak talking about him with his mom, but she didn't know Brock had met back up with him. She had missed him more than anything since the day they parted, she had to choke down the tears of joy as not to seem crazy in front of her two best friends.

"Ash! It's so great to see you!" His clothes were different and she noticed he didn't have his favorite hat, but she liked the new look. Amidst the bustling crowd and nearly tearful reunion she hadn't even noticed May and Max standing in the background.

"Oh wow! You're Misty?" May asked, leaning in closer in excitement, "It's so great to meet you, I've heard so much about you! Your Togepi is absolutely adorable!"

"Huh? Who are you?" Misty asked.

"Oh, sorry, I'm May! And this is my little brother Max," May said with a thumb-point to her shorter brother, "Ash has been helping me learn more about pokemon."

"Ash has been helping you?" Misty giggled, "I suppose he has come a long way since the day I fished him out of that river."

"Don't worry Misty," Brock said with a thumbs-up, "I've been here to keep these two in check." Misty smiled at the encouragement from Brock, but couldn't help but to feel a little worry anyway. Not for the well-being of the Ash or May, that was obviously in good hands, but at the fact that Ash had been away from her for so long. To make matters worse, he had been traveling with another girl the entire time and she didn't even know about it.

"Misty? What's wrong?" Ash asked. The question snapped her out of the small trance she had apparently fallen into.

"Just nostalgia, I suppose," she replied, not entirely lying.

"Yeah, the silver conference seems so far away now," Ash replied. "What are you here for anyway?"

"Oh, the professor bought me a ticket to come to festival! Lorelei of the Elite Four is supposedly one of the masterminds behind the whole thing and there's an entire workshop focused on caring for water pokemon."

"A member of the Elite Four is here?" Ash asked, hands already balled into fists. "Do you think I'll get a chance to battle her?"

"Two of them, actually," Brock answered, "And who knows. Maybe they'll enter into the battle arena."

"Same old Ash," Misty said. Seeing that he hadn't changed was a welcome sight. She had feared for so long that he would be a different person if they ever met again, or that he would barely even remember her. The stuff that boy got into, he would either end up dead or the most famous person alive. Eventually, anyway.

"Hey Brock, where's the room anyway?" Max asked, "Let's get outta this place."

"It's upstairs, c'mon," he replied as he began to lead the way. At the top of the stairs was a very long hallway with others intersecting it.

"Wow, this place is much bigger than it looks on the outside," Ash commented. Brock glanced at the door numbers as they passed by, counting higher and higher.

"Here we are!" he exclaimed, inserting the key into the door. The room was standard with two queen beds, a couch, a television and a few counters. "I offered Misty a place to stay with us, so we'll have to put the couch to use as a bed." He set his pack down on the floor. "The grand opening of the festival is tomorrow, but there's still plenty of stuff to do today. Just keep your pokegear on you if you go anywhere, and stick to the buddy system. This place is going to be jam packed all the time, and it'll be too easy to get lost."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they usually did whenever Brock gave orders. "Hey Max, let's go down and check out the rides," May suggested.

"Okay!" he agreed happily. He threw down his pack and raced out the door, followed closely by May.

"Be back in time for dinner, you two!" Brock yelled after them. After getting his effects situated in a corner of the room, he made his way for the door as well. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some business downstairs."

"Business?" Misty asked.

Brock couldn't stifle his excited giggles. "Yeah, the receptionist here is a pure angel! I'm going to help them get the crowd under control downstairs and hopefully win some hero points in the process!"

Misty sighed as he left the room. Same old Brock, same old Ash. It was almost as if nothing had changed in their time apart, which couldn't have made Misty happier. She would get a second chance, hopefully without a goodbye this time. She had been given an opportunity to say all of the things she wished she had said so long ago.

_But let's not rush things,_ she thought to herself, _it is still Ash._

Left alone now, Ash and Misty settled into their temporary home. Misty washed Togepi up while Ash laid back on the bed, not saying a word and staring into space. While Misty had noticed Ash's silence, she decided not to press any issues. For all she knew he was just dreaming of battling in the festival.

"Hey Misty?" he called out. She poked her head out from the bathroom and saw him still laying down, looking at nothing in particular while Pikachu napped beside him.

"Yes Ash?" she replied.

"I…I need to talk to you," he said, straining to find the right words. Misty could feel her heart beating faster. Ash was rarely as serious as he was now, and she had only been back together with him for an hour or so. Something was definitely wrong.

_Or right,_ she allowed herself to hope.

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything."

"Right, and that's why I think now's the time to say this," Ash said as he sat up and leaned over the side of the bed. Pikachu looked up as he shook the bed around.

_This is it,_ Misty thought to herself, _I never would have thought he would have been the one to say it first._ She could feel butterfrees in her stomach as she waited for the words to come out of his mouth.

"I've just been feeling really weird lately…something I've never felt before. Now that you're here, I think I know why and what these feelings mean. I hope, anyway. I'm not really good with things like this…" He twiddled his thumbs a bit and shuffled his feet. Pikachu's ears and face perked up.

_He's still as dense as a rock, and it's still the cutest thing in the world. Oh, Ash, just say it already you big dummy!_

"…but I think I'm in love with May."

Misty felt her whole world shatter. In a single word, the drop of but one name, the only thing she had every truly wished for with all of her heart was now forever out of reach. In the few months the two of them had been apart, he had not only **finally** grown feelings, but they were for somebody else. She used every bit of willpower she had and then some to keep herself from bursting into tears, although she couldn't stop the few that had already made their way to her eyes. Luckily, Ash's focus was still on the nothing in front of him so she had time to wipe them away without him noticing, although Pikachu caught it. His ears drooped and he laid his head down on the bed.

"But I don't know what to do," Ash continued, "Which is why I'm really glad you're here," he said looking up. Misty had managed to hold a smile that Ash couldn't quite see through. "I don't know what to do, I just feel so…so…different, around her. It's like when she's around everything changes. I want to let her know that, but I don't know how. All I've ever really done is battle, and that's not going to help me much here. You'd know better than anyone how to be romantic and all that stuff, so," he said with a hopeless shrug of his shoulders, "can you help me?"

What was she supposed to do? Even if she wanted to there was really no way she could tell him no.

"Of course I can," she said in the cheeriest tone she could manage, "What else is a friend for?"

"Thanks Misty," Ash said, visibly relieved, "I didn't know what I was going to do until you came along."

Ash's pokegear started ringing in his pocket. He fished it out, answering it. "Hey Brock! …What? Whaddya mean you volunteered me to help? Fifty Boxes? But I don't wanna…hello? Hello?" He stuck the pokegear back into his pocket and made for the door. "I guess we'll have to do this another time, offered my services to help unload one of their trucks." He paused when he reached the door. "Which reminds me, please don't tell him. We know how he is with girls…"

Misty forced a giggle, "Promise."

"You coming, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Piiikuh…" Pikachu replied, pretending to be tired.

"Alright then, see you when I get back." And with that, Ash left a devastated Misty alone to recap the worst five minutes of her life.

_I'm the dummy,_ Misty thought to herself. This was it then; she had to help the person she loved to tell the person he loves that he loves her. She flopped onto the bed with Togepi and stared into the empty space above her. Ash was onto something, because it was actually a very peaceful nothing to stare at. Pikachu cuddled up beside her, showing his sympathies for her in the best way he could.

_Well if this is the way it's going to be, then I'm going to make sure he gets everything he deserves._ Misty silently nodded to herself in agreement. _I might have missed my chance, but I'm not going to let him down now that he's not a stupid boy anymore._

"Whaddya say Pikachu?" she asked, "Think we can do it?" Pikachu cooed nervously, unsure of how they had even arrived at the place they were in now.

"I know we can," Misty said to herself. "Ash Ketchum, prepare to become a gentlemen."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry if it was a little more on the sad side. I promise it won't be like that all the time!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping in to read! Let's check in on May and Max down at the festival, shall we?

* * *

Down by the beach, May and Max faced disappointment after disappointment as they walked the boardwalk only to find none of the rides had opened yet.

"This is just stupid," Max said, "nothing's open but these lousy shops."

"And they don't even have anything good for sale," May added. The two of them hung their heads and pressed on, hoping to find something to quench their thirst for excitement. It was only one night to wait, but it seemed like weeks with something so fun in store for them tomorrow.

As they walked Max noticed a small crowd forming by some benches. "Hey May, check it out," he said, pointing to the commotion. "Wanna go see what's going on?"

"It's bound to be better than another one of these cheesy souvenir shops," she replied. The two of them worked their way through the crowd and saw a young man standing center-stage, juggling an insane amount of apples.

"Wow!"

"That's amazing!"

"How does he do that?" The crowd murmured excitedly at the boy's act. Much to everyone's surprise, he lifted one of his hands to check the time on his watch. Miraculously none of the apples fell as he managed to keep them all circling with just one hand.

"Incredible!"

"I don't believe it!" More comments floated around as the crowd began to grow. The boy looked at the one hand that was juggling and then to the apples in the air. "Oh no!" he exclaimed, grabbing his cheeks in surprise as the apples came falling to the ground. "I forgot I need two hands to juggle!" The crowd erupted in laughter as the boy took a bow.

"He's great," Max said to May, "how did he do that?"

May, however, was far too busy admiring the young man to even hear her brother's question. _He's cute _and _funny_, she thought to herself.

"Uh, hello, Earth to May?" Max nudged her.

"Huh? Did you say something, Max?" She asked.

"Oh brother, don't tell me you like him," Max said while rolling his eyes. May slammed her fist into his head giving him an early view of the stars. "That would be a yes," Max continued, apparently a glutton for punishment.

"For my next act, I'll need a lovely lady from the audience to volunteer to aid me." May completely ignored Max's earlier statement and shot her hand into the air, followed very shortly by many others around her. The boy looked her way and paused for a moment. He let out a nervous chuckle before continuing. "Why yes, I think you'll do just fine," he said pointing to May, "Come on up here and tell everyone your name."

May did as she was told and stepped into the circle the crowd had created. "My name is May."

"May? That's a beautiful name," the boy said. May's cheeks burned bright red as the blood rushed into her face. "My name is Mason, it's a pleasure to meet you. I wonder, do you know how to dance?"

"Dance?" she replied, "Well, a little bit."

"That's all you need. See, really, I just love to dance, and I figured I'd take a break from all that juggling and have a nice, slow, relaxing dance. Would you care to join me?" Quiet laughter arose from the audience as May's cheeks grew brighter. She knew it was all part of the act but she couldn't help but feel flattered by the request. "You don't have to, you know, I suppose I could dance by myself…"

"No!" she blurted out, prompting more chuckling from the audience. "I mean, yes, I'd love to join you."

"Great!" Mason knelt down by one of the benches and pulled a boombox from underneath it, pressing the play button. A classic song began to play at a very steady beat while Mason kept count by waving one of his hands. "And…here we go…"

He took May's hand in his and placed the other around her side and the two of them took off. It was a simple dance, consisting of little more than stepping in time with the music. Still, the audience was completely focused on the two of them, ready for the next part of the act to spice things up. Before long, Mason began to look concerned as he tried to stay in step with the song.

"I-I'm so sorry, May," he said, "I'm not usually this bad, I promise. I've just never had the pleasure of dancing with someone as pretty as yourself." May couldn't help but to giggle, growing more and more fond of the compliments being thrown her way. "Excuse me, my hands are beginning to sweat, I just need to…" As he spoke, he pulled his hands away to wipe them on his shirt. To her surprise, May could still feel his hand holding hers up and a hand hooked under her arm. Even more of a surprise was that Mason was still in step with the music.

"What's happening?"

"That's crazy! How's he doing that?"

May felt the need to ask the same questions she could hear coming from the audience. However, she knew it was all simply part of the act and kept her composure. Mason returned his hands to their positions as if nothing had happened. The crowd gave a round of applause as the two of them continued their dance.

"I must say you're an exceptional dance partner," Mason said, "And I pride myself on knowing these things about people. The way you move is so smooth, so elegant, it's almost as if you're just floating along."

Without warning, May actually felt herself being lifted off the ground. She hovered a few inches above the pavement but was still moving with the music. The crowds astonished gasps overpowered the nervous chuckle that escaped May's lips as she wondered just what was going on.

"She's really floating!"

"It's magic!"

"Hm? Is something the matter?" Mason asked the audience. Most of them pointed towards May's feet which were no longer in contact with the ground. "Oh no!" he said, "I guess I must have swept her off her feet!" Once again the crowd burst into laughter. May was lowered to the ground as Mason bowed to the crowd. May gave a curtsey, still baffled as to how Mason managed to do all of that.

"Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen! I'll be here for the whole festival, come and find me if you ever need a laugh! And let's get a big round of applause for the lovely May!" The audience's applause continued as the two of them bowed and curtsied until the last of them had left.

"May, how did you do that?" Max asked excitedly, "It was so cool! You were really flying!"

"Did you like the show?" Mason asked Max.

"Yeah, it was awesome!" he replied, "You were really funny!"

Mason couldn't help but laugh at Max's excitement. "That's good! I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

"It really was fun," May said, "but how **did** you do all that stuff?"

"Oh, it's actually really simple." Mason held a hand up, pointing to the nearby benches. One of the shadows began moving, making its way over to where the three of them stood before purple ears came floating out of the ground. A gengar floated up in front of them, a big smile plastered on its face. "Meet Poof, the real star of the show!"

"A gengar!" Max cried, "That's one of the ghost pokemon! Now it all makes sense!"

"Poof loves to play jokes on people," Mason said, "so I decided to put it a more constructive use and perform tricks for crowds. We have a blast, and the people usually love it."

May leaned forward and inspected Poof. He responded with a big lick across the face, paralyzing her.

"Eh-hey!" Mason pulled a pokeball off of his belt and recalled Poof. May still stood frozen in place while Max burst into laughter beside her.

"Don't worry," he managed through the laughter, "she was asking for it!"

Mason pulled a bottle of paralyze heal from his pack and gave May a spray. "I'm really sorry, he's a little too playful sometimes. If it's any consolation he only licks people he really likes."

May shook off the stinging feeling and giggled. "It wasn't all that bad," she said, "just a little tingly."

The three of them laughed as a ninetails made its way into their midst, nudging Mason's leg. "Oh, I guess that means it's lunchtime. Do you guys wanna join us?"

"Sure!" Max said.

"Do you mind if we bring some friends?" May asked.

"Not at all," Mason replied, "the more the merrier. Let's meet outside the department store in an hour."

May and Max nodded their heads and Mason took off with his ninetails. May watched as he left, letting out a sigh.

"He wasn't kidding," Max commented, "he really did sweep you off of your feet." Once again Max was seeing stars as May's fist collided with his forehead.

"You are **so** immature!" May sighed again, this time in exasperation.

_But not wrong,_ she thought to herself. _This is going to be an exciting weekend!_

* * *

**A/N**: Oh no! Just when Ash opens up about having feelings for May, she finds someone who she really seems to like! What's a matchmaker to do with such an ugly love triangle?


End file.
